The kids were so excited to design and build an alter with the Tiny Hikes and Adventures friends this year at the Springs Preserve. Together with their mommies, were able to create elements of a traditional ofrenda through numerous arts and crafts. All the items were done by the children of Tiny Hikes and their families!First, check out the monarch butterflies made with paint, constructions paper, coffee filters, pipe cleaners and markers. Monarch butterflies are a common feature of Day of the Dead altars, or ofrendas, because they are believed to carry the spirits of the dead. Many indigenous cultures in Mexico believe that butterflies represent the souls of the deceased who return to visit their loved ones on Earth during Día de Muertos. The kids made over 300 butterflies! The judges love that the kids were able to learn about the cultural meaning of the Day of the Dead. We lost a few moms in the group these past years due to various reasons and we had to explain death to the children in an organic, meaningful and gentle way. People deal with loss in different ways and for us this was a good way to make sense of our tragic loss that hit so close to home. This EPIC skull pinata was made by Katy Briggs. Her artistry is unmatched and details of this sugar skull took hours of meticulous work. Sugar skulls represented a departed soul, had the name written on the forehead and was placed on the home ofrenda or gravestone to honor the return of a particular spirit. Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy smiles, colorful icing and sparkly tin and glittery adornments. The pinecones were painted as marigold flowers that are symbolic in a traditional ofrenda. Marigolds symbolize the brevity of life and are thought to guide the spirits of the dead back to their families. The children painted these in red, orange and yellow to represent this beautiful flower. The most popular marigold for ofrendas is the yellow marigold, also known as flor de cempasúchil. Other flowers that are sometimes used in ofrendas include: chrysanthemums and cockscomb The hand painted rocks that represented the food for the souls was my favorite part. The ‘pan’ or bread was so realistic and the vegetables added a colorful element to the artistic ofrenda. Big shout out to La Bonita who was one of the sponsors that made this festival possible! This is my mom’s all time favorite destination in Las Vegas and every Wednesday, this is were we stock up on fresh veggies and fruits.
One of the best tools we used in our production of this award winning ofrenda is glow in the dark glue sticks from SureBonder! These Glow-in-the-dark mini glue sticks can be used for, but not limited to, Halloween decorations, Halloween costumes, craft and art projects, school projects, or your own creative activity. If you are a serial crafter like me, you will know that a cordless glue gun is truly lifechanging! Thank you for sending this for us to test out!
